Thetis Island (population: 379) is an island and unincorporated community off the coast of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, lying between

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

, which is to the west across Stuart Channel, and the west from the north tip of

Galiano Island Galiano Island ( Hul'qumi'num: ''Swiikw'') is one of the Southern Gulf Islands located between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the west side of the Strait of Georgia, the island is bordered by Mayn ...

, from which it is separated by

Trincomali Channel Trincomali Channel is a channel located in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada. Etymology Trincomali Channel is named for the ship HMS ''Trincomalee'', which was assigned to the Royal Navy's Pacific Station at Esquimalt from 1852 to 185 ...

. With its immediate southern neighbour

Penelakut Island Penelakut Island, formerly known as Kuper Island and renamed in 2010 in honour of the Penelakut First Nation people, is located in the southern Gulf Islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland Pacific coast of British Columbia, Canada. ...

(formerly Kuper Island), it is one of the

Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands are a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from "Gulf of Georgia," the original term used by George Vancouver in his ma ...

. Thetis island is in size. It is approximately wide and long north to south. Two north to south land ridges define the east and west sides of the island. Burchell Hill is 503 feet

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

, and forms the high point on the west side of Thetis island, and Moore Hill is 511 feet above sea level, and forms the high point ridge on the east side of the island

Name origin

The island was named in 1851 after HMS ''Thetis'', a 36-gun

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

commanded by Captain

Augustus Leopold Kuper Admiral Sir Augustus Leopold Kuper (16 August 1809 – 28 October 1885) was a Royal Navy officer known for his commands in the far east. Naval career Kuper, whose ancestry was German, joined the navy in 1823 as a midshipman. On 20 February 183 ...

(after whom Kuper Island was formerly named). The ship was named after the

Nereid In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; grc, Νηρηΐδες, Nērēḯdes; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanids, Oceanid Doris ...

Thetis Thetis (; grc-gre, Θέτις ), is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, or one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as ...

from

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

History

Before contact, two

Cowichan tribes Cowichan Tribes ( hur, Quw’utsun) is the band government of the Cowichan, a group of Coast Salish peoples who live in the Cowichan Valley region on Vancouver Island. With over 3,800 registered members, it is the single largest First Nations ...

inhabited Thetis Island, the Yekolaos and the Lilmalche. Thetis was first settled by Europeans in 1874 but permanent settlement took hold in the 1890s and 1900s. One of the early families on Thetis Island was the Hunter family. In 1891 Peter & Joseph Hunter purchased lot 27 from Mr. Walls, and then a couple of years later, lot 18 from Olaf Gustafson. Descendants of Peter Hunter continue to live on the northern coast of the island.

Services

Among the homes and seasonal cabins of Thetis Island are three

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

organizations: Capernwray Harbour Bible School, Pioneer Pacific Camp and formerly run Camp Columbia. There are also two marinas, Telegraph Harbour with a bistro and Thetis Island marina with a restaurant/pub, a small convenience store with post office, and several

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

on the island. Thetis Island also operates one of the few one-room schoolhouses left in Canada.

Climate

Thetis Island has a mild climate experiencing less rainfall than the western coast of

as it lies in the

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...

of Vancouver Island. Vegetation on the island includes many

arbutus ''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to warm temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islan ...

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

and

western red cedar ''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae ...

. Pilkey Point offers islanders and visitors a great view of the ocean and is a popular attraction.

References

External links